Man is charged with kidnapping missing 12-year-old girl

Adriaunna Horton, 12, disappeared on Monday evening when she got in Bobby D. Bourne Jr.'s vehicle at a park in Golden City.

August 20, 2013|by Shayla Patrick, KY3 News | spatrick@ky3.com

GOLDEN CITY, Mo. -- Late Tuesday afternoon, a man from Lamar was charged with kidnapping a 12-year-old girl on Monday. Bobby D. Bourne Jr., 34, was charged after being held in the Barton County jail for 24 hours. He now has a $1 million bond.

An intense search for the missing 12-year-old girl continued on Tuesday. Fourteen law enforcement and public service departments looked for Adriaunna Horton, who got in a vehicle at a park in Golden City late Monday afternoon. She was playing there with friends after completing the first day of a new school year.

“I'm just lost. You always want your baby to be in your arms, to know she's safe and at home and not lost and cold,” said Adriaunna’s mother, Wendi Jackson of Overland Park, Kan., as she fought back tears.

Jackson says words can't describe the emotions that she's felt since Adriaunna disappeared and she rushed to Golden City.

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“Yesterday, my little girl was over here. She just got home from school. She went to Hazel's Park here in Golden City, she was playing with her sisters and two friends and a guy pulled up and coaxed my daughter over to the vehicle and abducted her,” said Adriaunna’s dad, James Horton of Golden City.

Horton says Bourne once worked for him.

“His kids and my kids played together, they were all friends and everything. This is just a sick individual who needs dealt with swiftly and very sternly,” he said.

Shortly after 5 p.m. Monday, Horton called police to report his child was missing, after the group of friends with whom she was playing at the park told him what they saw.

“Based on the information that was given by a witness at the scene, the driver in that vehicle was stopped a little after 6:30 yesterday evening. That driver and vehicle are being detained,” said Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Mike Watson.

Adriaunna wasn’t with that driver. More than 14 law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Southwest Missouri Major Case Squad, began an extensive search effort for the missing girl.

“There are different areas around the city and then pressing a little farther outside of town that the searchers and law enforcement will be at,” said Watson.

Officers declined to comment on where specifically they've searched, if they are looking at any other people of interest, or if they have come across any clothing or belongings of Adriaunna.

“Leads are coming in all the time and, as the investigators are coming back, they are providing more information, and then sending those investigators back out to talk to different people,” said Watson.

In this small town of fewer than 800 people, the Horton family asks that no stone be left unturned when it comes to locating their daughter.

“Any help, any volunteers and anybody that wants to help and has a flashlight and good feet,” said Horton.

The family said Tuesday morning that the sheriff asked the family not to participate in the search. Others are welcome, however.

“The more eyes the better. It may be the difference between finding that key piece of evidence that you may miss because you don't have enough people,” said Watson.----

Edited news release from Missouri State Highway Patrol:

On Monday at approximately 5:30 p.m., Barton County sheriff's deputies responded to the reported disappearance of Adriaunna Horton, 12, of Golden City. She was last seen getting into a vehicle near Hazel's Park in Golden City. The reported vehicle was later stopped by a Barton County deputy and the driver was detained for questioning.

On Tuesday, after an investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Southwest Missouri Major Case Squad, a charge of kidnapping was filed against Bobby D. Bourne Jr., 34, of Lamar, for the disappearance of Horton. Bourne is being held in the Barton County Jail on a bond of $1 million. The investigation is ongoing.

The search for Adriaunna Horton continues. Any information the public might have regarding this case can be forwarded to the Barton County Sheriff's Department at (417) 682-5541 or the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop D Headquarters at (417) 895-6868. Investigators would like to remind callers they can remain anonymous.